AKP Phnom Penh, February 26, 2026 --

“The scam network, what we call the black economy, is destroying our honest economy. It has put a bad reputation on Cambodia. That is the reason why we need to clean this out,” Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet of the Kingdom of Cambodia said in an interview with the Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Feb. 25, in Belgium.

“The scam centre may produce some direct result to real estate, to some investment, the building, the buying, how to make centres,” said the Premier, stressing that the proceeds do not go into the Royal Government. 

Regarding the case of Chen Zhi, who was arrested and deported from Cambodia, Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet clarified that Cambodia did not know that he was the Kingpin, and the authroties took action when they learnt about the alleged wrongdoing. 

It should be recalled that during a meeting of the Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS) earlier this January, the Prime Minister issued new and firm strategic directives aimed at completely eliminating all technology-based scam activities from Cambodian territory no later than April 2026.

At the same time, according to a report from the Ministry of Interior, through preventive measures, crackdowns, and enforcement operations against online scams, as of Feb. 25, 2026, more than 210,000 foreign nationals had voluntarily left Cambodia, while approximately 30,000 others were deported and repatriated to their home countries.

(Photo: AFP)

By C. Nika